Data centers and election season

This roundup of energy news headlines comes from our Midwest Energy News newsletter. Sign up to get it in your inbox every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning.

DATA CENTERS

• The leading Democratic candidate for Wisconsin governor calls for a moratorium on data center construction as the industry plays a prominent role in this year’s primary and general elections. (Canary Media)

• PJM plans to keep data centers and other large loads from burdening ratepayers with higher costs by making states responsible for ensuring the facilities secure their own power or risk being cut off from the grid. (Canary Media)

• A Wisconsin county official says the developer of a potential $10 billion data center near Madison walked away from the project after being informed that the plan would need to be presented publicly. (Wisconsin Watch)

• DTE Energy promises to freeze rate increases for two years if a 1.4 GW Oracle data center comes online and receives other regulatory approvals. (Utility Dive)

OVERSIGHT

• Indiana Gov. Mike Braun (R) fires a state utility regulator for allegedly violating multiple state policies, including failing to file financial disclosures and improperly awarding gifts and payments to employees. (Indiana Capital Chronicle)

RENEWABLES

• We Energies started construction in recent months on three projects totaling 510 MW of solar and wind capacity and 125 MW of battery storage. (Solar Power World)

• The Republican nominee in Michigan’s governor’s race has said he wants to repeal the state’s 2023 clean energy law, a position that a conservative clean energy advocate says is unlikely to have broad public support. (Planet Detroit)

GRID

• Iowa regulators adopt new rules for large-scale transmission projects that aim to mitigate the impacts of noise, electric field strength, and construction on pastures and cropland. (Iowa Capital Dispatch)

• Transmission operator ITC prepares to gather public input on a potential route for a $1.5 billion transmission line across Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. (Crain’s Grand Rapids)

• Xcel Energy starts construction on a 185-mile transmission line to move 4,000 MW of wind and solar generation out of southwestern Minnesota. (West Central Tribune)

CLIMATE

• Omaha, Nebraska, joins Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Youth Climate Action Fund that provides funding for local climate-action projects developed by residents ages 15 to 24. (Nebraska Public Media)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Enbridge seeks a $163 million rate increase for Ohio gas customers to replace aging pipelines and cover higher operating costs. (Cleveland.com)

COMMENTARY

• Ohio leaders need to treat failing fracking waste disposal wells that are threatening public drinking water supplies as the emergency that they are, a longtime Ohio geology professor writes. (Ohio Capital Journal)